Luís Graça meets with Alen Simonyan in Yerevan, 24 Nov. 2025YEREVAN, 26 November 2025 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President and Special Representative on South Caucasus Luís Graça (Portugal) has concluded a visit to Armenia, during which he met senior officials, parliamentary representatives, civil society, and local communities to discuss current political developments, regional dynamics, and democratic processes within the country.

In Yerevan, Vice-President Graça met with Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan, Head of the OSCE PA’s Armenia Delegation and Chair of the human rights committee Sargis Khandanyan, Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan, and Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan. He also held discussions with representatives of the parliamentary opposition, including with Lilit Galstyan, a Member of Armenia’s OSCE PA Delegation, and a group of civil society, media, and expert stakeholders. Discussions focused on human rights, media freedom, the rule of law, and regional developments, including the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process.

A key part of the visit included a field trip to Kirants, where Vice-President Graça met residents living along the recently delimited Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Accompanied by Lilit Minasyan, an Alternate Member of Armenia’s Delegation to the PA, he heard first-hand accounts of the impact of the demarcation process and the community’s expectations for security and stability.

Luís Graça visits Kirants, 23 Nov. 2025Reflecting on the visit, Vice-President Graça stated that “in Kirants, we saw what peace can look like in practice and how profoundly such changes affect the everyday lives of citizens.” He noted that these insights demonstrated the need for keeping the human dimension at the centre of peacebuilding and conflict resolution efforts, not just in the South Caucasus, but in the entire OSCE region.

The Special Representative also participated in ODIHR’s conference “Developing Parliamentary Integrity Standards” hosted in the National Assembly of Armenia. Speaking during the opening session, he highlighted the role of parliaments in promoting accountability, inclusion, and public trust. He further underlined the importance of creating sound and well-resourced integrity systems, as well as the value of co-operation among parliaments to strengthen democratic resilience across the OSCE region.

At the conclusion of the visit, Special Representative Graça expressed appreciation for the openness of all interlocutors and reaffirmed the OSCE PA’s continued commitment to engaging across the South Caucasus, supporting dialogue, confidence-building, and practical steps toward lasting peace and stability.

Photos of the visit are available for public use on the OSCE PA's Flickr page.

For more information on the work of the Special Representative on South Caucasus, please click here.